I went to a flooring place locally and they said they don't recommend it. A few years ago I installed laminate in the hall and kitchen. From that batch, I used a sample and put it in a bucket of water over night and it did not seam to be affected. Are they some manufacture that claim to be good for bathroom floors? if so which manufacture or brand that you know of? thanks.
It is not the material itself, but the fact that water can leak down between the seams and rot out the underlayment or sub floor.
Isn't the same true of ceramic tile? Grout absorbs water. I have a 18 inch diameter hole in my 10 year old house subfloor that was covered with ceramic tile and plenty of mud that proves my point. I am going with laminate as the replacement floor in the bathroom. At least repair of the subfloor will be easy with laminate. Also we had Mannington laminate put in my elderly parents' bathroom 5 years ago. Still looks brand new. That was on a concrete slab floor. In any case you have to follow manufacturers instructions which include a vapor barrier under the floor and silicon around the perimeter of the room to protect the cut edges under the molding from moisture. The finished interlocking edges are very water resistant in the current name brand floors.
Art mentioned Mannington:
Once you have material & installation recommendations, as well as dealer names, shop for a dealer whose ideas match what the manufacturers told you.
But such a simple test isn't the same as years of exposure to various degrees of moisture in a bathroom.
Why the paranoia about only using the telephone? With an email, at least he'd have a record of the response.
I've never seen a commercial kitchen with laminate flooring of any kind, have you?
Depending on how long one intends to stay in the house, I'd also consider the effect on re-sale of using a laminate in the bathroom.
Why the paranoia about only using the telephone? With an email, at least he'd have a record of the response.
+++++++++++++++++++++++ It's unusual to find a corporation whose people have the attention span to follow what MIGHT END UP BEING a multi-message email "conversation", and respond in a timely fashion. It can take days. On the phone, you handle it all at once.Why the paranoia about having a record of the response?
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I've never seen a commercial kitchen with laminate flooring of any kind, have you?
+++++++++++ Yes. +++++++++++
No. Well, yes, depending on conditions and/or the skill of the installer.
There's more than one 50 year old tiled shower floor still in daily use of which the grout has not absorbed water and they are still as watertight as the day after they were grouted that suggest your floor suffered a breach of the seal.
And, of course, there's building codes, none of which I am aware prohibit installing ceramic tile as a shower floor, although I guess the requirement of a watertight shower pan might suggest to some that grouted tile is insufficient insurance of watertightness.
Still, if I had my heart set on using a laminated wood product in a bath environment I would adjust my heart to set upon seamless vinyl that looks like wood instead. -----
- gpsman
No, and no, it does not prove your point. It only prove you had a lousey tile job.
Maybe 50 years ago the installers knew how to put down a waterproof ceramic floor but in my experience, that is not true today. As for vinyl, I've seen plenty of vinyl floors with mildew eating thru the vinyl causing permanent stains. Also vinyl is very difficult to clean. It looks like crap all the time which is why sales have gone down more than 50% over the last decade. Laminate has picked up most of the vinyl market share because it looks brand new year after year. You guys have made me decide to run an experiment. I will take a couple of laminate panels next week and snap them together and keep a nice puddle over the seam for a few days and report back as to whether the water gets thru. I will also work the seam to simulate movement of the floor normally caused by walking on it. I'll report back.
Some manufacturers recommend that normally snapped together floors be glued when installed in bathrooms. Others recommend that only for their laminate square tile products, not for their long plank products.
Hi, IMO, real issues today with such problem is arising from weak floor. My first house had T&G plank sub floor and plywood on top and Oak T&G floor or particle board and vinyl. Do we see thsi kind of floor on new house they build today? When supporting foundation is not rigid, how can tiles stay put? No wonder I always had my house custom built to my own spec. Cost more but lot less chance of trouble/headache in te long run. When I sold my house(s), it took first or second prospective buyer to sell it. I guess they know well built house when they see one. House inspection never picked anything negative.
=EF=BF=BDYou guys have made me decide to run an experiment. =EF=BF=BDI
in your home bathroom it will be exposed to water for its entire life.
why rush a 3 day test? run your test for a month at least.....
and please report back
in your home bathroom it will be exposed to water for its entire life.
why rush a 3 day test? run your test for a month at least.....
and please report back
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How much water are you people talking about, anyway? If your bathroom floor is exposed to enough water to cause problems ON A REGULAR BASIS, the floor's not the primary problem. It's the people using the bathroom.
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